Rated: PG

Distributed By:

Directed by:

Starring:

Voices of Chris Pratt as Emmet; Elizabeth Banks as Wyldstyle; Morgan Freeman as Vitruvius; Will Ferrell as President Business; Will Arnett as Batman; Liam Neeson as Bad Cop/Good Cop

Adapted From:

Plugged In Online

The LEGO Movie

Emmet builds skyscrapers in LEGO world. It’s a good job, if a little boring, and Emmet has a great attitude about life (his favorite song is “Everything Is Awesome”). Then one day he meets a girl named Wyldstyle. She doesn’t just build skyscrapers—she’s a master builder who can make anything! Wyldstyle takes Emmet to meet a wizard. Apparently, Emmet is the “chosen one” who must save the world from an evil plot. He’ll need the help of a whole team of master builders, including Batman, Metalbeard the pirate and a weird unicorn/kitten hybrid. You know, the usual LEGO team.

There are several references to “magic” and “powers” in this film, but these elements are not particularly dark or demonic. Instead, they resemble the “powers” kids make up while playing in the backyard. One character dies and comes back as a LEGO ghost. A few jokes would be more crude if they featured real people instead of plastic figures.

Readers familiar with the LEGO video games (or your average “LEGO war”) will recognize the film’s smash-and-crash approach to violence. Characters, buildings and vehicles bash, crash and fall apart, breaking down into individual pieces. It’s mostly harmless. Even the “bullets” and “flames” are made of colorful plastic. However, there are a few real-world dangers for our LEGO friends—superglue freezes them in place and a villain’s laser can melt plastic.

The LEGO Movie is a bright, silly and breakneck-paced good-guy-vs-bad-guy tale. There are nice lessons about believing in yourself and the power of imagination. But the biggest takeaway from the movie? It’s more fun when you play together.